Legal Considerations for Photographers

Ignorance of the law is NO defense. So it is important that photographers, especially photographers who are in business or who want to sell their photographs know about the legal considerations that are unique and specific to their profession.

Photographers should have a good grasp of the following:

privacy rights

property rights

intellectual rights

copyrights

freedom of information

ethics

work for hire

licensing images

liability

fair use

use of images on the internet

One of the best places to get guidance and information is the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). NAPPA is committed to providing information so that their members can make sound decisions on business and photo practices. The NPPA has over 11,000 members worldwide. Their members work for newspapers, television, and magazines and include journalists, photojournalists and editors.

NAPPA’s website offers a variety of valuable business information including Frequently Asked Questions about photographers rights, copyright, etc. The information is available to both members and non-members.

If photography is your profession, be sure that you ARE professional … don’t leave money on the table by not understanding your rights, and don’t get on the wrong side of the law by NOT understanding other people’s rights.

Be sure to read the article on the War on Photography … and listen to the radio discussion. It is very sobering and shows that as photographers we need to know our legal rights. AND when we travel we can’t assume that we have the same rights in other countries. For example in the UK they have recently passed new restrictive “photography” laws that are very vague and will basically result in MUCH abuse of photographers by law enforcement and quasi law enforcement personnel. http://proofpositive.com/photography/the-war-on-photography/